133 - Setting Your Weight Loss Expectations

Just a short show for you today and I want to share my thoughts on why some men feel like they're not making progress when in reality, they are.

First off, we have to start with setting your expectations correctly. You have to understand that you didn't gain that 40 pounds of fat in a month or two; it took years of neglect.

For you to lose that fat (not just weight), it's going to take hard work, commitment, and time. There is no other way.

Too many people are caught up in the "new and shiny" syndrome, which has us jumping from diet to diet or program to program, looking for the next best thing.

The issue is that we don't stick with anything long enough to know if it's actually working.

And while hitting a plateau is a very real thing and can cause frustrations, most people simply give up too soon because they feel like they aren't making any progress.

Often times, the scale is used as the indicator of progress and personally, I think that's a mistake. Too many factors can influence the scale on any given day and drive you crazy thinking you're not making progress.

Things like time of day, water retention, and amount of food in your digestive tract can swing your weight, sometimes significantly.

Instead, use non-scale indicators like how you feel, how you're sleeping, how your clothes fit, and if others are noticing changes in you. To me those are a much more reliable source of progress.

Just remember, if you keep doing the right things for your body, your body WILL reward you. Don't quit just because the scale isn't moving, you ARE making progress. It just may take more time than you want.